Drag Race’s Daya Betty calls out ‘hateful’ taxi driver who made her uncomfortable

Daya Betty from RuPaul’s Drag Race has shared a story about how a taxi driver made her feel uncomfortable on her trip after he clocked that she was visibly queer.

In a statement posted to Twitter, Daya Betty Drag Race taxi said: “Had an extremely uncomfortable situation with a taxi driver today. When he began helping me with my bags he seemed to have fixated on my French tips and multicoloured backpack. Then he proceeded to tell me my luggage wouldn’t fit in his car and to find another, despite it being a hatchback. The attendant of the taxi line noticed the encounter and even got involved by telling the driver he was being unreasonable and that he had more than enough room’

“With much distaste, the driver complied and put my bags in the car. As I got situated in the car and we began to drive away his attitude remained the same, being extremely rude the entire trip. Rather than shrivel up with embarrassment and discomfort, I sat in the back of the taxi and started taking up more space.

“I was gonna let him know I wasn’t going to back down despite his hateful behaviour. When he muffled something under his breath, I asked him if he had a question. When he turned up the radio in the middle of me speaking mid sentence, I spoke louder. I sprayed my perfume, watched clips of Drag Race on full volume from my phone, and sloshed around my venti iced coffee.

“The point of this being, despite feeling uncomfortable, I wanted to let him know that I deserve the same respect as everyone else. I arrived to my destination safely, but with an uneasy feeling. This unfortunately is just a small exchange of a much larger picture. Queer people have existed forever and we aren’t going anywhere. Don’t let ANYONE treat you like you don’t belong, and when you do feel like you are being looked at sideways, give it right back to ’em.”

The statement Daya Betty made about her horrible taxi driver experience was supported by her Drag Race sisters, with fellow finalist Lady Camden saying “I love your response to this bullsh*t”, and DeJa Skye saying “Find a new profession, we’re not going anywhere.”

RuPaul’s Drag Race season 15 continues to air exclusively in the UK on the streamer of all things drag, WOW Presents Plus. Subscribe here.

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